1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a processed food and a method for making a processed food product suitable for mass distribution and is specifically directed to a processed food and a method for making a processed food having a pliable, outer food shell and an inner food filling.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The fast food industry generally supplies mass marketed finger-type food, i.e., food which can be eaten without utensils. Typically, such food ranges from sandwiches such as hamburgers and french fries to various ethnic or specialty foods such as, by way of example, burritos, tacos and the like. As "fast food" has become more acceptable, there is a continuous problem of providing good quality food while at the same time meeting high volume production requirements.
When such foods are made in the standard manner, the production is very labor intensive. On the other hand, when such foods are made as an assembly-line manufactured product and shipped to the retail sale destination, quality suffers. There is a need for high-volume, manufactured food products that have the quality of handmade, point-of-sale prepared foods.
Another issue with the point-of-sale assembled foods is the integrity of the final assembly. Typically, when such products are made the food ingredients are loosely assembled. This makes the products less than desirable as "finger foods" where the foods are picked-up and eaten without utensils. Often the loosely packed ingredients will fall out of the outer shell when the food is picked up, especially after the product has been partially eaten. This is particularly true of products intended to be consumed by young children. This causes both waste of the food product and an undesirable sanitation problem.
It is common for such product to be eaten in personal cars while traveling, both by the driver and by the passengers. When such foods have a tendency to fall apart when held and eaten this can create a safety hazard as the driver's attention is diverted from the highway to the food in his hand. There are reports of numerous accidents caused by attempts to manage food while eating and driving.
In the past, processed or manufactured food assembly products, such as a hamburger sandwich or other food product having multiple components, have been pre-cooked, assembled and then frozen for shipment to the point-of-sale, where the food is warmed to serving temperature. While this permits the food to be mass produced off site, the resulting product is usually less than desirable. To date, there are not any known methods of assembling large volumes of food products at the point-of-sale without resorting to manual, labor intensive assembly methods.
This is particularly true of layered foods where meat products, vegetable products, breads and various condiments are layered to provide a finished product. Examples of such products are hamburger sandwiches, pizzas, and Mexican foods such as burritos and the like. At the present time, these products are constructed layer-by-layer at the point of sale in a manual, labor intensive system.
It would be desirable to make such products in a manner preserving the quality of point-of-sale assembly while at the same time reducing the amount of manual labor required in the process.